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Enough is Enough: Repeal Hyde Now

September 30 marks the 38th year since Congress passed the original Hyde Amendment—the measure that bans the use of federal money for abortion, with exceptions for rape and incest, primarily affecting Medicaid recipients.

This means that for 38 years, low-income women, people of color, young people, and folks at these intersections have been subjected to the unjust intent of Sen. Henry Hyde, and his amendment created on the heels of Roe v. Wade, to take away their constitutional right to plan for the family they want.

Sen. Hyde made his intent perfectly clear during his 1977 congressional debate over Medicaid funding when he said:

I certainly would like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion, a rich woman, a middle-class woman, or a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the… Medicaid bill.